RELIEF WORKERS

Southland Times, Issue 22106, 29 August 1933, Page 6

RELIEF WORKERS

SOUTHLAND ORGANIZATION.

THE ALLOCATION CUT.

At the meeting of the Invercargill centre of the Southland Provincial Relief Workers’ Organization last evening the president, Mr D. Strathern, presided over a full attendance. The following report has been supplied:— Mr Strathem welcomed Mr Nutsford, of Wyndham, stating that he hoped the provincial council would meet shortly to discuss matters of importance to relief workers.

The following telegram was received from Mr Hargest, M.P.: “Mr John Gilkison and myself met the Unemployment Board regarding allocations, but regret that we were unsuccessful. The board maintains that no reduction has taken place since April, 1932, but that Invercargill has benefited by elastic local conditions.” Mr Henderson said that the telegram did not coincide with the telegram received by the Mayor or the statement made by Mr Bromley at the deputation which waited on the Minister when both Mr Bromley and the Minister had stated that the allocation had not been altered since November last. The latest telegram stated that no alteration had been made since April, 1932. Evidently the Minister did not know very much about the whole affair. Some further explanation was necessary. The men had received the cut of half-a-day and before this had received weekly cuts ranging from one to two hours per week. The meeting then discussed in committee ways and means of prevailing on the board to restore the cut.

Mr McCurdy (a vice-president) outlined the result of the deputations which met the relief workers at Riverton, Orepuki, Nightcaps and Ohai. Conditions, he stated, were worse than at Invercargill. The allocation in Riverton averaged 17 hours per week for three weeks for married men with two children, and 27 hours for four-day men. The men had all worked up time in advance for boots, but so far no boots had been received. At Ohai single men with no dependents either had to take farm or camp work. No work was available under the 5 Scheme for those single men. The allocations received were quite insufficient and it had been decided to write to the Minister of Employment (the Hon. Adam Hamilton) urging him to look into the matter and fulfil his promise to inquire into the country allocation with a view to increasing it. Mr Strathem reported on the visit paid to the Gore Relief Workers’ Association. They had a flourishing association and made a small levy on the men. The objects of the organization were explained and the visitors received a sympathetic hearing. The visitors were informed that the Unemployment Committee had instituted a scheme whereby persons requiring their garden dug could apply to the local committee for a man to dig their gardens, The citizen paid the relief worker 5/a day and the board 5/-, bringing the wages paid to the relief work to 10/-. The other 5/- paid by the board, went to the Mayor’s Fund. This was a good scheme, but it had its disadvantages. A relief worker spent part of his allocation on gardening and thus was in a position where he could not obtain outside gardening work. It was not fair to the professional gardener and it was questionable if this practice could be carried on with Unemployment Board money. It was decided that any man who had worked up time in advance for wet weather and had since been transferred to Duck Creek and who had difficulty in obtaining the money from the local body under whose jurisdiction he was working, be invited to place his case in the hands of the complaints committee. A number of complaints were left to the complaints committee for adiU It m was decided that all county branches be asked to elect one provincial councillor representing each branch and the council meeting be called for Friday at 11 a.m. Remits are to be m the hands of the joint secretaries before Friday.

“It is just the usual story, said Mr R. J. Henderson, secretary of . the local organization, to a Times reporter yesterday, in commenting on the telegram from Mr Hargest. “These men have done their part in placing our case before the board, but with the usual results; and it is evident that some other course will have to be adopted as a means of having the cut restored. The position of the relief worker is impossible now that the local adjustment has been frustrated. iet it is quite apparent that the allocation is insufficient”